


Hybrid

by Doc_Cairo



Series: The Hybrid-verse [3]
Category: Steven Universe - Fandom
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-28
Updated: 2017-01-11
Packaged: 2018-08-11 12:16:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,876
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7891966
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Doc_Cairo/pseuds/Doc_Cairo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“What I am about to show you... Has not been shared with ANY Era 2 gem. You will treat this with the utmost discretion... or you will be shattered.”</p><p>Yellow Diamond conspires with one of her best scientists.</p><p>[Discontinued/Awaiting Re-write] - These events are not canon to the rest of the hybrid-verse due to major changes in the shows lore since writing it, though some events and characters are in common. A re-write is planned, but do not take what's here as totally canon to "Among Us Hide..." and "Three Dead, One Missing".</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Experimental Objective

 

**Report of Incidents regarding crystal system planet Sol-3**

 

2.34.3510.2

Autonomous RE-413 is destroyed while passing through Sol-3's atmosphere. Cause undetermined, incident filed as acceptable loss.

 

3.12.3510.2

1F3G-129 arrives on home world after indeterminate time in space. Records state 1F3G-129 was MIA/Casualty during the rebellion. 1F3G-129 refuses to disclose her whereabouts during the intervening 3890 cycles. Detained for questioning.

 

3.32.3510.2

2F5L-5XG is assigned to perform routine maintenance on Sol-3 galaxy warp, to facilitate further maintenance on Project Rupture.

 

3.38.3510.2

2F5L-5XG repairs Sol-3 warp connection and briefly travels there. Unidentified symbology at site, tampering suspected. Sol-3 warp is disconnected after 2F5L-5XG leaves.

 

3.49.3510.2

2F5L-5XG attempts to perform Project Rupture maintenance remotely via robonoid drone. Nine robonoid drones destroyed from 3.49.351.2 – 3.55.351.2.

 

3.55.3510.2

Robonoid successfully connects to Sol-3 prime Kindergarten. Maintenance interrupted; see attached video file S3R1.

 

**[S3R1begin]**

“Because... we are the crystal gems! We're still alive, and we're still the guardians of this world, and all it's living creatures!” The pearl shouted, flourishing her spear and pointing it at the screen. Alongside her were what appeared to be a human child, a small amethyst, and a tall unidentified gem.

 

“The crystal what?” 2F5L-5XG responded with confusion. Which was understandable. The era 2 Peridot had, like most era 2 productions, not been briefed on the history of the planet Earth or the... troubles... that had taken place there. It was simply not something era 2s so low in the power structure needed to know. Despite 5XG's efforts, the connection of the kindergarten was severed.

**[S3R1end]**

 

3.55.3510.2

2F5L-5XG reports to 2P4X-7SL regarding incident on Sol-3. 2P4X-7SL declines to view the video record, opts to send 2F5L-5XG to Sol-3. 2F5L-5XG submits request for military escort and guide. For their negligence in not conducting a proper investigation and failing to bring record S3R1 to her diamonds attention, 2P4X-7SL was harvested on 1.7.3511.2.

 

3.56.3510.2

1S4P-2AX assigns 1J9B-L8E as 2F5L-5XG's escort based on past experience with Sol-3 as well as the personal request of 1J9B-L8E. 1F3G-129 is temporarily released from custody to act as guide. They depart in an E2-5H Prison Ship.

 

3.75.3510.2

After missing their return window and failing to respond to hails, the mission is deemed lost. Possible recovery missions shelved due to lack of resources.

 

4.28.3510.2

2F5L-5XG contacts you, my diamond, via a disused Era 1 communications channel. I... really don't need to say anything more about this.

 

4.29.3510.2

Following 2F5L-5XG's betrayal, a ruby squadron is dispatched to Sol-3 in an RS-V6 to retrieve 1J9B-L8B if possible. Squad consists of four era 2 rubies and 1R3E-8B1.

 

4.32.3510.2

Long-range sensors read activity within Project Rupture, approximately 140 units before projected models. Activity ceases before end of unit, cause unknown.

 

1.3.3511.2

1R3E-8B1 is found floating in deep space by the crew of a V3-FE cargo ship. Based on her information, the V3-FE immediately rerouted to home world.

 

1.6.3511.2

1R3E-8B1 reports that Rose Quartz is alive.

* * *

1.8.3511.2

 

Pyrite knelt patiently before her diamond. She hoped her report was thorough enough. This was perhaps the most serious and important one she'd written in her 3,000 cycles. Yellow Diamond set the holo-screen down across her lap.

“What else did the ruby have to say?” She asked.

“Well, quite a bit my diamond. But I felt it would be more prudent to provide you those details myself.” Pyrite glanced around the room, particularly eying the Pearl who stood at attention next to the throne. “Off the record.”

“Very well.” Yellow Diamond leaned forward to listen. She noticed Pyrite's gaze at her Pearl. “Speak. Rest assured, my Pearl won't repeat anything she hears here unless I tell her to.” The pearl silent nodded. Pyrite nodded, brushed her hair away from her eyes, and began to recite the more... interesting testimony of 1R3E-8B1.

“The ruby said that there were several gems on Earth. In addition to those seen in the video record from the kindergarten, the rogue Peridot and errant Lazuli seem to have joined their ranks. They initially posed as humans, and rubies... well, being rubies... they fell for it at first. By the way, the unknown gem from the video was revealed to be a heterogeneous fusion between a ruby and an unidentified blue gem. The rubies were deceived that our era 1 Jasper had traveled to Sol-7, and spent many units scouring the rest of the sol sub-system to find her. I'll spare you the needless details, but 1R3E-8B1 was isolated with the small human from the video. And she claims that human... is actually Rose Quartz is disguise.”

“Based on what evidence?”

“She claims that her gem was cracked, and that Rose Quartz healed it.” Pyrite said. “My diamond, if this is out of line to ask, I ask your forgiveness, but are the stories about Rose Quartz true?”

“If you were of a lesser cut, then yes, it would be.” Yellow Diamond muttered. “But given your position, it is important that you know. Yes, Rose Quartz had the unique ability to repair cracked gems. Some strange anomaly with the materials used on Sol-3... it wasn't part of her design; nor were her other unique properties. This ability is what allowed her to sustain the rebellion for so long.” Pyrite nodded to indicate her understanding.

As a scientific-specialist, she knew that there was normally no way to repair gem damage. Standard procedure for a cracked gem was harvesting and re-incubation: it prevented the loss of resources but the process took a significant time span and left them understaffed during the interval. There were ways to rush the process, but it led to defects and frailties that were more trouble than they were worth. Complete gem repair was the holy grail of gem-science... and Rose Quartz had it by accident. Oh what she wouldn't give to dissect her gem... unlock it's secrets.

“So Pyrite, a question.” Yellow Diamond prefaced. “Rose Quartz was disguised as one of these earth creatures... humans?”

“Yes. She was unsure whether it was a shape shift or a reformation. The other quartz that was with them used shape shifting to disguise herself as our Jasper so...”

“But whether reformed or shape-shifted, a gem retains certain traits. Particularly coloration. This human...”

“... had black hair.” Pyrite's eyes widened. No matter what, Rose's hair should have stayed the same shade of pink as her gem. It was an immutable law of gem physics.

“You are familiar with organics, correct?”

“Of course.” Pyrite replied. Gems encountered organic life with varying levels of sophistication before, which needed to be wiped out before resources could be harvested and construction could begin on colony sites. They were rarely a threat... in all cases they were more fragile and less advanced, but worst of all their propagation was completely aimless. Newly created lifeforms had no specialization, no designated purpose, little to no built-in knowledge, and often spent whole cycles being completely useless until they grew into a mature state. Their only advantage was their ability to create new bio-mass, which allowed them to continue reproduction without consuming non-renewable resources. The new lifeforms were random mixtures of two existing ones.

“What I am about to show you...” Yellow Diamond picked up the holo screen and began swiping through it. “Has not been shared with ANY Era 2 gem. You will treat this with the utmost discretion... or you will be shattered.” She threatened. Pyrite nodded, but felt her form tingle with fear. “So... you have heard forbidden stories about Rose Quartz... but have you ever heard... of Sapphires?”

“Sapphires?” Pyrite repeated. True She had never heard the word.

“They are a type of gem... a very rare gem.” Yellow Diamond said. “In total, only three have ever existed.” Pyrite froze. Rarer than diamonds?! The mere premise was blasphemy. “In the earliest days of the first era, the Sapphires were close advisers of myself and other diamonds. They had a unique power, one that has never been recreated in any other gem... the ability to scry the future. Foreseeing future events was an invaluable tool for gem kind in the first era.”

“May I ask... why their existence is forbidden knowledge?”

“One of the sapphires... defected. During the early days of the rebellion, she and an ordinary ruby defected from Blue Diamonds court and joined the rebellion. Her ability to predict the future canceled out our own... gave the rebellion a significant advantage.” Yellow Diamond clenched her fist.

“And the other two?”

“One is possessed by White Diamond. She personally guards it, in stasis, for emergency use.” She explained. “And mine... was shattered.” She said with disgust.

“By the rebels?”

“No... she shattered herself.” Yellow Diamond said grimly. Had she heard the words 'shattered herself' from anyone else, she would have laughed at the absurdity. That was not supposed to be physically possible. “She saw a future... one final prophecy, before she leaped and shattered herself.” Yellow Diamond threw the holo-screen into the air between herself and Pyrite, where it hovered. “The reason their existence was stricken from the record. The final prophecy of the Sapphires.”

The screen began to display a scene to her. She saw a blue gem... long hair, her face covered, an elegant dress, a round blue gem, placed on her upper chest just as hers was. The gem spoke.

“We are lost. We are lost and we are found. There is something new.” She said... and Pyrite could see tears rolling down the face. “Like a comet, it comes. A great destroyer. Flesh and stone and mind and soul and love and hate and everything wonderful and terrible and everything in between.” She grew incoherent. She remained motionless, in an uncomfortable silence. “There will be a Hybrid. And we will fall.” And the Sapphire fell... a swan dive off some high place, gem aimed downward.

“Hybrid...” Pyrite repeated.

“Between a gem... and an organic. Traits of both organisms into a single life form.” Yellow Diamond crossed her arms. “And it's supposedly going to destroy us all...” Pyrite froze in fear, and the previously silent Pearl let out a startled gasp as Yellow Diamond laughed heartily. “Until now, I thought it was nonsense. But I refuse. After all these cycles, I refuse to be frightened, of that miserable quartz!” She raised her voice and stood up. “This future will be changed.” Yellow Diamond stared down at the terrified gem scientist. “Your new mission: discover how this 'hybrid' came to be.” She strode past Pyrite in a mere two steps.

“And then we are going to make our own.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I've had some writers block on Three Dead, One Missing, so I wanted to work on something different for a bit. The dating system used here is not the same as Peridot's log dates, so don't worry about trying to connect them.
> 
> Also, while Peridot's official gem designation is canon, I pretty much just made shit up for the other HW gems official names, as well as names for the homeworld spaceships.
> 
> This story is part of 'Three Dead, One MIssing's continuity, and chronicles what will eventually lead up to the events of that fic.


	2. Lab Testing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pyrite doesn't need help to do science. But she doesn't seem to have a choice in the matter.

“You may experience some momentary discomfort.”

Pyrite pressed a button, and on the other side of the glass, a metal arm descended from the ceiling towards the small red gem.

She flinched as a shriek assaulted her audio sensors. Soundproof glass didn’t mean a thing if you forget to turn off the microphone. She hastily muted it and stared disinterestedly at her own tented hands while the procedure took place.

“Is that really necessary?”

Pyrite jumped. She had forgotten she wasn’t alone in the booth; Pearls just sort of blended with the furniture for her. And she certainly hadn’t expected it to initiate a conversation. For most Pearls, that was a punishable breach in etiquette.  But this was Yellow Diamond’s Pearl after all.

“Yes. Her gem was healed by this Rose Quartz Hybrid. This analysis might help us understand how it works.”

“Our diamond isn’t interested in the healing factor. How does this contribute to the hybrid?” It asked. Pyrite rolled her eyes.

“Several ways, but I’m not going to waste my energy explaining them to a Pearl.” She sneered. The Pearl closed it’s eyes and inhaled, before putting it’s hand to it’s mouth, and clearing it’s throat.

 

“I am… delighted…” It said, with what Pyrite would have taken for sarcasm, if Pearls were capable of such a thing, “to inform you that as the Pearl of a Diamond, I was custom created with full relevant knowledge bases applicable to every aspect of running the empire, including a full body of scientific knowledge.” It put it’s hands behind it’s back and smiled at Pyrite. “In other words… I am SMARTER THAN YOU.”

“Of all the... “ Pyrite seethed. The nerve. This was a Pearl. And it talked back to her. She should... she instinctively raised a hand, but stopped herself. This was Yellow Diamond’s Pearl. She had to keep reminding herself.

“I am no ordinary Pearl. If you continue to treat me as such, I can make this as unpleasant for you as you are for me.”

 

“Fine.” Pyrite conceded before turning her back to the Pearl. She would just… pretend she was some other gem, and not a PEARL. That would work. “As I’m sure you know…” She glanced back at her and put as much doubt into those words as she could. “All matter in the universe is made of elements. Elements arranged in different combinations and structures create different types and forms of matter.” Pyrite made some keystrokes that brought a holographic screen up in front of the glass window. It displayed many dots which arranged themselves in a consistent pattern, eventually forming a diamond shape. “Gems are made of relatively heavy elements into a dense crystal structure. Organics on the other hand consist of lightweight elements, like hydrogen and nitrogen.” A few more keystrokes and the particles rearranged from a diamond to 3-d model of a double helix.

 

“And they use this spiral structure. Deoxyribonucleic acid. DNA. It’s the equivalent of the instructions and programming given to gems during incubation. It’s what determines WHAT the lifeform will eventually be.” The screen faded away, revealing the experiment room on the other side, where the mechanical arm was now retracting, the red form that had been strapped to the table had dissipated leaving the ruby’s gem behind. “The hybrid healed this Ruby using it’s spit, a type of discharge which contains its DNA. If a sample of that DNA could be extracted, it would let us see exactly how the hybrid’s DNA is structured.” Pyrite turned around with a satisfied feeling. ‘AND THAT. Is how this contributes to the Hybrid Project.”

 

“Except that the crystal structure of the original Rose Quartz was designed by and only know by Pink Diamond.” Pearl said. “And without that original data to compare with, you would have had no way to extrapolate from this sample.”

 

Stardust. She was right. The PEARL was right. The PEARL had just blown a quartz-sized hole in her scientific reasoning.

 

“Well… I mean… I thought the structure of a Rose Quartz wouldn’t be that different from other Quartz forms… so while it wouldn’t be an exact science maybe I could…” She scrambled.

“Relax… you don’t have to save face in front of me.” She said. “I am just a Pearl.” She turned and walked out of the booth. But the way she had said it, Pyrite knew she didn’t mean it. Pyrite followed her out of the booth.

* * *

Outside the booth, the Ruby reformed. As it continued to glow, the sound was the first thing to come back, a scream of pain that seemed to pick up right where Pyrite had muted it. She at least had the satisfaction of seeing Pearl cringe at the sound. The screaming stopped, giving way to hyperventilation as the gem resolidified. She had made a slight change to her outfit… her jumpsuit extended all the way down to her boots, unlike her previous shorts, and she now wore an eyepatch… over her non-gem eye.

“Pyrite…” she said. “PYRITE!” She shouted. “Something’s wrong I can’t see!”

“Calm down.” Pearl said authoritatively. “You messed up your appearance modification. Adjust it.”

“Who’s there?” She swung her fist in the general direction of the voice, but was still several meters from Pearl. Pyrite groaned and stepped towards her.

“Hold still…” She pulled on the black patch and shifted it to the side between the eye and the gem. The eye beneath widened with realization.

“Oh.” She frowned. “Well now I just look stupid.”

“Only now.” Pearl said sarcastically. Pyrite couldn’t help but snicker at that.

 

“What is that supposed to be anyways?”

“It’s called an eyepatch.” Ruby told them, before adjusting it to cover her gem. “We were observing earth transmissions while on the way there, and I saw a human with one.” The two said nothing, and stared at her incredulously. “It’s a… a tactical advantage!” She defended. “See, now, when I’m in a fight, they won’t know where my gem is! So they can’t aim for it!”

“Except you would have to draw your weapon from the gem at the start of the fight anyway. So they would know.” Pyrite pointed out.

“Uh… oh…” Ruby’s expression fell. Poor little soldier… thought she had a brilliant idea..

“Well, if she drew her weapon while still in hiding or out of an enemy's sight lines, it wouldn't reveal it.” Pearl pointed out, and Ruby smiled.

“But it’s so obvious!” Pyrite argued.

“And I see you’ve added a degree of padding to it to protect against impacts… not bad.” Pearl examined more closely.

“Well, it’s kinda how it got cracked before so…”

 

Pyrite tuned out Pearl and Ruby’s conversation, examining the holo screen in her hand. Collection Failed. The healing spit hadn’t left any DNA trace in her gem. This had been a wasted effort.

“No DNA trace.” Pyrite told them.

“Damn it.” Ruby pounded on the table she had been lying on earlier.

“Not like it would have given all the answers, but it would have been a start.” Pearl conceded. “We should consider other options.”

  
“Oh, I think our next course of action is pretty obvious.” Pyrite leaned on the wall and crossed her arms. “We go to Earth. And we do science.” She grinned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, Hybrid is now officially back underway. The current plan is for six more chapters, at which point it will intersect with 'Three Dead, One Missing'.
> 
> Also, I'm well aware of how bullshit the science is. Trust me, I know everythings way more complicated than what Pyrite talks about.
> 
> Next time: The trio attempts to study Earth culture in preparation for their mission.


	3. Secondary Research

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Are we there yet?" leads to an interesting conversation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one's a little short, I've been dealing with some writer's block and a lot of stress with work and family. Gonna try and get this train moving again.

Pyrite was incubated 3038 cycles ago. And in those cycles, she had risen through the ranks of the science corps and learned a great many things. Less actual science; she knew most of that and simply did her job of applying it efficiently. More about bureaucracy: how to work around it and game it so that the incompetence of other gems didn’t impede her work. For instance; a specific way to word requests, especially material requisitions. These days, things were stretched so thin, you could never get exactly what you asked for. The trick was to over-request… the gem making the decisions makes an ‘efficient’ cut, and she still got what she needed.

However, this time her request was filled in full. Yellow Diamond was very serious about this. And it meant that they were actually going on this mission with way more than they needed. She was just glad she hadn’t requested additional staff or armed escort.

The V3-FE. One of Homeworld's most common ships: typically used for cargo. In fact, it was the same ship that had picked up the Ruby. Sure, it looked like a giant gravity connector, but it was exactly what she needed. It didn’t have the sort of advancements of other craft… it didn’t have the RS-V6’s FTL driver or the E2-5H’s impressive firepower. What it did have was lots of space, lots of armor, and a reactor that could power all her experiments. And that reactor could also power the stealth field generator she had ordered stripped out of a B7-AT. The rogue Peridot might have told Yellow Diamond that the E2-5H was destroyed, but it was quite possible that both it and the RS-V6 the rubies had used were in enemy control. With these modifications, these “Crystal Gems” would hopefully never know they were there. And they had brought another RS-V6 in the cargo hold in case they needed something faster, for either a fight or quick escape.

The downside of this plan: without FTL, the V3 could only travel at near light speed; meaning it would take several units for them to arrive at Sol-3. Units. Alone. With the Yellow Pearl and the Eyeball Ruby.

“What’s the situation?” Ruby stepped onto the bridge.

“Normal.” Yellow Pearl groaned from her seat towards the front. “Same as the last twenty-three times you asked.” She may be a Pearl, but Pyrite was beginning to sympathize with her… there was only so much a gem could take. How five of these grunts had made the trip without shattering each other from sheer annoyance was beyond comprehension.

 

“For the love of the diamonds, if anything changes, we’ll let you know. So stop barging in here!” Pyrite ordered. Eyeball glared at her.

“Well what should I be doing then?” she asked.

“Anything but this.” Pyrite said.

“We’re all going to go mad at this rate.” Yellow Pearl muttered. 

“Well we shouldn’t just sit here! We need plans! And strategies!” Eyeball asserted. Pyrite snorted at the idea of what the ruby would constitute as a ‘strategy'. Eyeball glared at her again, before straightening up. “With all due respect, you are both greatly underestimating these humans.”

“You never interacted with any humans. Even the one you thought was one turned out to be the hybrid.” Pearl scoffed.

“Yes, but en route to Earth my squad reviewed several historical records about humans downloaded from the Ansible.” she stated. “If you’d seen what I’ve seen, you’d understand!”

Pyrite pondered for a moment. Sure, she’d buy that humans were perhaps smarter than the average Ruby. That wouldn’t make them a huge threat honestly… but they had time to kill.

“Alright, tell us some of what you saw.”

“Why are you encouraging her?” Pearl had stepped closer and whispered.

“Shut up, this will at least be entertaining.”

 

“Well, first of all, were you aware that humans have been invaded by another species besides gems before? Several times!”

“... and so humanity’s hero Will Smith flew the stolen ship into the base and disabled the shields…”

“... and then he flew the missile through the wormhole…”

“... now I’m not surprised they failed, I mean the planet’s 80% water and its fatal to your biology, why even try? Next there was that race that opened a portal in the ocean so the humans built giant robots…”

* * *

“Are you gonna tell her those were fictions?” Pearl asked Pyrite once the ruby had left their presence. It had been a trivial matter to access the Ansible while she told her tales. They had found records matching what she described… in the fiction archives. Said archives were off limits to lower-class, unintelligent gems. They didn’t have the capacity to tell the difference. Some kind of clerical error must have given the earth mission rubies access.

“Don’t think I’ll bother. Dispelling her delusions won’t do anything but hurt mission morale. Besides… it did help us learn something.”

Logging into the Ansible to verify the falsehood of Ruby’s tales had led them to actual historical documents for Sol-3. Like the fictions, these records were a collection of stray broadcasts beamed into space, accidentally or otherwise, dating back less than 150 cycles, when the lifeforms had first reached the technological development for it.

Humans. The fictions told one story while the records told another. Their lack of logic and direction… their wars with each other. Their leaders coming and going and pitting their underlings against each other. Of course this was the world borne of the Quartizine Rebellion: self-interest was the first and last thing on these organics minds.

 

And she could exploit that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The spacecraft names, though maintained in their formal gem names from Pyrite's perspective I will identify for you here.
> 
> \- The V3-FE is a cargo freighter, in the shape of a foot. It is capable of linking up with Hand ships and a few others to create gestalt ships.
> 
> \- The E2-5H is the Hand Ship, as seen in the Season 1 finale. Known for it's sheer firepower, it's a warship.
> 
> \- The RS-V6 is the FTL, bigger on the inside, rounded ship that the Ruby Squad was sent in. One is with them, and another with the new homeworld crew. These are typically used for scouting and transporting VIGs.
> 
> \- Pyrite mentions having a shield generator stripped out of a B7-AT, which would be the "torso" in the above mentioned gestalt ship.
> 
> Additional Trivia
> 
> \- The concept of the "Ansible", the FTL communications network Homeworld uses, is a reference to similar device in the "Ender's Game" novels.
> 
> \- The movies Eyeball mentions include: Independence Day, The Avengers, Signs, and Pacific Rim.
> 
> \- Space Jam was considered to be mentioned, but if they had seen that they really shouldn't have fallen for the baseball thing in Hit the Diamond.


	4. Participant Observation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first day on Earth brings more questions than answers.

**Keep Beach City Weird Post - Mysterious Red Meteor and an Important Announcement!**

So, as some of you may know… I have a girlfriend. My lady. My Ohime-sama. We share a passion for the finer things in life… food, anime, conspiracy theories. We were enjoying the latter two on her back porch over in Ocean Town last night when the third made an unexpected appearance!

So there we were, watching Raizoh;Door, and it had just gotten to the dramatic scene where the NASADA agents burst in and shoot… whoops, spoilers. Go watch it for yourself it’s amazing. BUT AFTER you finish reading this, ok? Anyway, what looks like a red shooting star falls right into the ocean! Jane’s house is super close to the beach, so we ran out to there to see what it was. The waves were still super choppy from the impact but we couldn’t find anything!

Jane and I agree this must be investigated, but how? How to penetrate the deep dark ocean? Jane suggested maybe trying to get help from Steven’s friend who drained the ocean before, but I had a better idea. We must rent a submarine! However, now that Guacola has folded… and man, I honestly regret that sponsorship, I can barely afford my Crunchydodge subscription. I need funding.

Of course, my small-minded father can’t see how vital and important this scientific mission is! He just facepalmed and made me man the fryer for an hour! So, since I won’t be able to extract any submarine funds from him, I am taking desperate measures! Keep Beach City Weird now has a Contributeon! I’ve set goal points to rent a sub, and another tier to participate in manned commercial space flights when they are ready in a few years! Donate monthly and get shout-outs on my blog! I’ve already walked around town gathering my first Contributeon sponsors!

A very special thank you to Mr. Universe and the “It’s a Wash” car wash, who is currently donating $10 a month for me to “stay far away from him”. I certainly will Mr. Universe, when I leave to explore the dark depths of the ocean and find the strange red thing that crashed last night! If just 100 more people can donate as much, I can afford the sub-rental in a year!

* * *

It started cold… cold like space… because it was space. Much like when she’d been flung out of the airlock on the moon. As she got closer to Sol-3, she felt herself moving faster… and faster… and then it got hot. Lava hot. Then hotter.

Any gem besides a Ruby… or perhaps a Bismuth, or a diamond, though that went without saying… ok, so there were a lot of heat resistant gems that could do it; Survive an unshielded atmospheric reentry. She just had to land right. That’s all that mattered. Do not land on face.

She landed on her face.

But into water. It hurt like hell but it wasn’t enough to damage her gem. Pyrite had carefully planned the descent path. Oh, how sweet it would have to push her out into space. See how she liked it. She managed a smile as she composed herself and started swimming up.

She found her way to land. She walked a mile or so inland to the location Pyrite had shown her on the monitor, an abandoned house in the woods. The rotting wood of it’s door gave way with a swift kick. She kicked aside stray papers and trash in her path, clearing a circle in the center of the largest room.

She reached into the storage space of her gem, drawing out a long, thin object longer than she was tall, the far end clanging softly on the dirty carpet. With both ends resting on the floor, the shaft unrolled into a long, thin, flat tile with intricate designs on it’s surface. Ruby pressed her palm to the surface, and the tile lit up, melding with the floor. 

Warp pad installed.

It activated almost immediately, Pyrite and Pearl appearing in a pillar of light. Pyrite looked about the dilapidated room distastefully.

 

“Eww.” She said flatly.

“You picked the place.” Pearl pointed out.

“Well yeah, but from the satellite it didn’t look this… bad.” Pyrite kicked aside an empty orange plastic bottle on the floor.

“We could pick a different place.” Ruby said.

“No, those pads are permanent installs. This is our only way on and off the ship now.” Pearl said.

“Well what about the roaming eye?” Ruby said, using the simplified nickname of the scout ship.

“That’ll draw too much attention.” Pyrite shot the idea down. “The Crystal Gems would be able to detect it entering and leaving the atmosphere.”

The Crystal Gems.

That’s what the Pearl had called her little group in that dramatic flourish during the video record of the rogue Peridot’s first encounter. With Yellow Diamond granting them access to the era 1 war records, she understood what exactly that meant now. The rebel army that had shattered Pink Diamond. Believed destroyed by the Diamond’s retribution, only to resurface several thousand cycles later.

The three of them were officially behind enemy lines here. She had chosen to set up this outpost relatively close to their last known location, a barn some distance away. Hopefully they might be able to gather some useful intelligence while they were here… and in an extreme best case scenario… capture and dissect their Hybrid.

Any open aggression was… unwise. Secrecy was paramount, and while there were only seven of them counting the hybrid by Ruby’s account, their true numbers and strength were unknown. They were close but not too close; a good strategic position.

“Alright, I’m going to the nearest settlement to gather intel.” Pyrite said. “Ruby, secure the perimeter.” She ordered, and Eyeball nodded and walked out. “Pearl…” she prepared to order her, but she held up her hand.

“If you’re about to tell me to clean this place up… don’t. I’m already doing it. Just being around this mess is making me queasy.” She muttered the last bit as she started drawing tools from her gem.

“Well… ok then.” Pyrite was slightly taken aback. She knew Pearls had a reputation as neat freaks, but she hadn’t expected her doing it without orders. “Keep it up I guess.”

* * *

The sun was rising when Pyrite walked up to the edge of Ocean Town. She read the sign at the settlement’s boundary: “Ocean Town: No Longer On Fire!”.

“Give us time. We’ll fix that.” She said to herself as she looked down upon them. Her new test subjects. They just didn’t know it yet.

* * *

“Damn my hubris.” She muttered to herself as she sat on a park bench. She had come out here to observe humans. Interact with them. Test her ability to blend in. But despite the extensive research she had done during the trip… she was in no way prepared for any kind of social interaction. She had no idea where to start. She was stumped, and swore she must have been developing future vision like a Sapphire because she could already hear Pearl laughing at her…

Wait, no. That wasn’t her. That was one of the small humans nearby, who was scampering around what appeared to be some sort of training apparatus. The structure had climbing walls, agility tests, evacuation chutes, and mechanical interfaces. Yet no human appeared to be timing the small one to measure their efficiency. And there was really no reason for the human to be laughing. It climbed stairs, slid down the evacuation chute, and repeated the process, sometimes climbing, sometimes pausing to spin the mechanical dials into patterns.

“What are you doing?” She walked over and called up to the small human, who stood near the top of the tallest to chute.

“Playing.” It said back to her cheerfully. “Watch me slide!”

“Why?”

“Are you watching?”

“Wh… yes, I’m watching but wh…” Pyrite was cut off by the human’s giggles. It came to a stop at the bottom of the chute.

“Your hair is pretty.” It told her. The child had reddish hair in a short pony tail… a darker shade than her own orange-gold.

“Uh… thank you?” Pyrite replied. That had been completely unwarranted. It smiled at her, before running past her and making a small jump onto the climbing wall. “Why are you… playing?” She recalled it’s words. “Is it training for something?”

“It’s fun!” It glanced back at her as it reached the top of the wall. “Try it!” Pyrite stood in fron of the climbing wall, eye level with the human who stood on the platform at the top. She didn’t see the point, but it couldn’t hurt. She made a gentle jump that pushed her about six feet in the air, landing next to the small human. 

“Whooaa! You jump so high!!!” It’s eyes widened and gleamed. “Try this! Try this!” It grabbed her hand and tugged her towards the evacuation chute. She took one long step for each of the humans three to the threshold. It sat down, legs dangling in the chute, and looked up at her expectantly, before descending. Pyrite hesitantly knelt down and examined the chute. She still didn’t understand the why. “Hurry!” the human’s voice echoed up the long tube. Pyrite shrugged… and took the plunge. Everything went dark halfway through the tunnel, before becoming bright again at the exit. The human clapped and giggled.

“You still haven’t explained anything.” Pyrite said indignantly, sitting at the end of the chute. But the human had already ran back to the stairs next to the climbing wall. Maybe this type of human was like a Ruby… but even dumber. It would explain the small vocabulary and lack of motives. Or maybe it was defecti-OOF. The human slammed into her back after gaining momentum down the chute. Pyrite rolled with the blow a few feet away and drew into a low defensive stance, reaching for her weapon...this was a trap… all a lead up to this attack…

The human made no aggressive moves. It seemed confused by her defensive movements, but not threatened or threatening.

“Thanks for playing with me.” It said.

“What?” Her hand stayed close to drawing her weapon.

“Miss Moon says not to talk to strangers.” The human stood up from the slide. “But you were nice!” It waved it’s hand… and then left, walking away from the structure and towards a larger human in the distance, this one seeming more alert and defensive. She realized something about her must have drawn suspicion. She made a strategic withdrawal.

* * *

 

Returning to the base, Pyrite was stunned at Pearl’s rapid turnaround of the building. The teleporter room was now completely cleared of rubbish, and the adjacent rooms as well. The layers of dust and dirt were gone and power and lights had been turned on. Pyrite could hear her singing a monotonous tune upstairs.

“Aghhh!” A small red figure leaped at her from around a corner. Ruby wore a white mask with black accents around the eyes and mouth. “Would it kill you to react at all?” She asked disheartened.

“What’s that supposed to be?”

“It’s a human appearance modifier!” Ruby exclaimed as she pulled the mask off, dangling it by its elastic strap. “Pearl found it in a closet upstairs. She told me to burn it like the rest of the trash but I thought it was interesting…” She trailed off as she saw Pyrite’s disinterest. “So… what did you learn?”

“These humans are… more confusing than I assumed.”


End file.
